But hey, there's some cool stuff happening, and quite a bit of it comics-themed. First, B&N will celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary with a special Batman Day, then it'll have several days of discounts of DC trade paperbacks, then a day of Marvel specials, and then almost a week of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles activities.

July 23 will be Batman Day at Barnes and Noble stores, which means people who swing by will get a free special edition of Detective Comics #27 (likely the Free Comic Book day version), and there will be a draw for a mini Bat-signal. From July 23 through July 27, the chain will have a "special offer" on DC graphic novels, but the Get Pop Cultured site doesn't offer many details in that regard.

From July 24 through July 27 -- the same time as Comic-Con in San Diego -- B&N stores will have what it's calling "comic convention exclusives" from toy company Funko. Again, not many details on the site.

August 2 will be Marvel Day, and August 4 through August 9 will offer six full days of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles activities for kids ages 5 through 10.

Again, this is all clearly a way to get people into stores, but it's pretty smart. This is something -- honestly, one of the only things -- Amazon can't do. Barnes and Noble's advantage is that it has a location in virtually every city. Marketing itself as a place for fans to come hang out makes sense.